Whole-plant corn silages were treated with Ecosyl® or Foraform® in one trial and
Biomate® or Biomate + Cold-flo® in the second trial. In both trials, the silages were well
preserved, but all were highly unstable in air during the first 3 to 4 weeks of the feed-out
period. Foraform-treated silage was 2 to 6 degrees F cooler than its control, but Cold-flo-treated
silage was 2 to 8 degrees F warmer during the first 10 days post-filling. Laboratory
silo results showed that both control silages fermented extremely fast; however, inoculated
silages had slightly lower pH and higher lactic acid values through the first 4 to 7 days postfilling.
Foraform lowered the initial pH of the ensiled material, restricted subsequent
fermentation, and produced a silage with about one-half the acid content compared to its
control. Cold-flo raised the initial pH and delayed the start of fermentation, but resulted in a
silage with greater acid content and an increased dry matter loss. Though not significant, calves
fed Ecosyl, Foraform, and Biomate silages had about 6 percent better feed conversion than
those fed control silages and gain per ton of crop ensiled was also higher for the three treated
silages. Cold-flo-treated silage produced 3.5 lb less gain per ton of crop ensiled than its control.
Whole-plant forage sorghums were treated with TriLac® in one trial and Silagest® in
the second trial. Inoculated silages had slightly lower ensiling temperatures than controls. All
silages fermented rapidly, but both inoculants increased ensiling efficiency as indicated by higher
lactic to acetic acid ratios (in laboratory silos) and decreased dry matter losses (in farm-scale
silos). Calves fed Silagest silage outperformed those fed control silages, and both inoculants
increased gain per ton of crop ensiled over control silages.
